Gary,
I am building frame and panel doors for a vanity I am building. I accidentily cut the groove for the panels off center on the rails and stiles. I wanted to use a tenoning jig I just bought, but after a couple of hours of trial and error to get the tenons cut just the right amount off-center, I had to give up. I then set up a dado (Forrest Dado King) to cut the cheeks. Unfortunatley, the cuts came out quite rough and the shoulders were not straight. I know that it must be pilot error, but I can’t figure out what I was doing wrong. So I have two questions: First, is there any efficient way of measuring for and setting up a tenoning jig if the tenon has to be offset a bit. Second, do you have any sense for what I might be doing wrong with the dado blade. I just need a fast, easily repeatable method for making matching tenons.
Thanks
Replies
Hi,
Cutting tenons can be frustrating but pay attention to this. If your stock, rails and stiles are the same thickness, then it's simple to double check your set-up. Make your shoulder cuts first with the crosscut sled or a miter gauge to depth. I next rough out the waste on the band saw. This gives me a shim should I need to glue something back on [oh that would never happen] and it gets the potential projectile cut off the stock. Then I make a cheek cut and check it by holding it up to the mortise piece. If you flip it face for face with the cheek up tight against the outer face of the other stick, if it's right, the face of the tenon board should line up perfectly with the mortise side. If it's too far or not far enough, you can see this immediately. Works like a champ.
If your tenons are offset and the boards will not be flush, then it's a cut and fit thing. I have a practice board around to double check my set-up before committing everything to a cut. You can also use your combination square as a depth gauge to see if you've cut deep enough.
As for your dado blade problems, make sure the dado set is sharp and set up properly. Use a slow feed rate, don't let the wood climb up on the blade and use a miter gauge to push the work past the blade. I wouldn't drag it back through the blade however. Once through the cut, I'd carefully reach around and take the piece off before pulling the gauge back for another cut. Good luck. Gary
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